Legend of Zelda: Storm of Shadows
by Rinjii-san
Summary: For hundreds of years the land of Hyrule has lived in relative peace; however, peace does not last forever. A dark storm has swept through the kingdom, bringing with it the seeds of an ancient evil. Title may change. Please review.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: This is just a short Prologue to open the story. I promise other chapters will always be longer. Please leave a review; I'd love to know what you think.

**Prologue**

It was another beautiful afternoon in Hyrule Town. People flocked to the town center to socialize and to enjoy the warmth of the late summer sun. Groups gathered around the fountain, their voices filling the air. A band played in the shade of one of the buildings, audible to only those a few feet from them. Children played between the crowd, and merchants that had set up shop cried out to advertise their goods. Every once in a while, a troop of guards would pass through; making sure everything was running smoothly. All in all, it was just another average afternoon in Hyrule Town, the kind that blurred together in one's memories. Milliard Church had grown up in Hyrule Town and had her fair share of these late summer afternoons. She made her way through the crowd of people until she came to one of the merchant stands. The proprietor of the stand looked up at the young woman with a warm smile.

"Good afternoon, Milly. What brings you here on this fine day?"

"Hello, Miles. Just running some errands," Milly replied, gesturing to the basket in her hand. "Got anything from the ranch today?"

"You're in luck just got some milk and cheese this morning."

"Great. I'll have the usual then."

The merchant nodded and turned to his inventory. He set two bottles of milk in front of Milly before turning back to fetch some cheese.

"How's your father been lately? I haven't seen him in a long time."

"Well. He's been pretty busy lately though; up at the castle almost every night."

Isaac Church, Milliard's father, was a member of the Royal Guard. Apparently it was a family tradition to serve the royal family and the kingdom of Hyrule. Even Milly hadn't been exempt from the cycle. Her father dreamed of having her in the guard and had trained her from a young age. If she ever did make it, she would be among the first women to have ever done so. A crack of thunder broke the conversation. The sky suddenly grew dark, and within a few seconds it was pouring rain. There were screams of surprise as the crowd scattered. No one had anticipated the rain. Just a few moments before there hadn't been a cloud in the sky.

"Eh? Out of nowhere like that? You should hurry home," Miles said, quickly handing Milly a chunk of cheese. She paid the merchant shoved everything into her basket and ran home.

By the time she reached her house the wind had picked up. Sevier storms were not uncommon this time of the year, but they never popped up so quickly. Soon it was lick night outside, the clouds blocking out the sun. Milly lit an oil lamp and began to put away the groceries. Once that was done she sat at the table, shut off the light, and watched the storm. It was a bad one too; the worst she had ever seen. The wind rattled the windows and the door. Lightning flashed often and was followed by thunder that sounded too close for Milly's liking. A few of the crashes hurt her ears and made her jump. Several hours passed and the storm showed no signs of letting up. She turned the lamp back on and ate dinner.

Alone in the house, there wasn't anything to do but sit and wait. After a time, Milly found herself staring at the flame inside the lamp as it danced in front of her. She was almost entranced by the way it moved, but she turned it off with a sigh. She hopped her father was doing alright. Part of her was sure he was; he was in a castle after all, but there was a part of her that worried about him. Another flash of lightning illuminated the dark room, but there was something different about it. The light had not been the usually white associated with lightning. No, this flash had been purple. She stood up as the thunder rumbled and moved toward the window. She stood there as several more lightning flashes tore across the sky. Not all of them carried the same purple glow, but there were some. It was sinister looking. It sent a chill down her spine, but she stood there for a while longer; watching the lightning and listening to the voice of the wind as it beat against the buildings.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Statues Born in Darkness**

The storm raged on throughout the night before ending as quickly as it had come. In fact, there was no sign that it had even existed. The morning following the storm was beautiful with clear skies and a warm temperature. At some point during the night, Milly had managed to fall asleep, but it had been a restless, dreamless sleep and she woke up feeling exhausted. Her father came home shortly after she woke up. Apparently something had gone wrong during the storm. All Milly could make out from his fast paced rant was that something had happened to the princess. He stayed just long enough to change cloths and eat a small breakfast before dashing out the door. Milly finished her own breakfast and did some chores around the house before heading out to check things out for herself.

It was only late morning and already rumors were spreading all around town. The storm had not caused much damage to the Hyrule Town itself, but people were telling all sorts of wild stories. According to the rumors, Hyrule was being plagued by many natural disasters; the storm being simply the first. Milly didn't pay much mind to all the gossip. Such stories always spread around in the wake of a large event. She pushed her way through the crowd of people in the town center and sat down on the edge of the fountain. For a while, she just people watched. The stories everyone was telling were ridiculous, but Milly couldn't deny there was something weird about that storm; something cold and dark.

"Good morning, Milliard."

Milly jumped at the sound of her name. She looked up to see a middle-aged man in armor. He wore no helmet, showing his graying hair and slight beard. He looked rather tiered, but somehow seemed to manage a half smile. Milly jumped to her feet at the site of him.

"Commander Linna, good morning," she said, returning his smile. "What are you doing here, sir?"

Thomas Linna was the Commander of the Royal Guard, and an old friend of Milly's father. He used to come over to the Church house for dinner all the time when she was younger, but that was back before he had become the Commander. She hadn't had much interaction with him since she was younger. Recently the king had assigned him as personal bodyguard for the princess as well as the head of the Royal Guard. Milly was surprised he was out in the center of the city. If something had happened to the princess as her father had implied, wouldn't he be by her side?

"I was just coming out to meet someone," he replied, scanning the crowd. There was a silence between them for a moment before he turned back to her. "Did you notice anything strange last night?"

"Not really, just the storm. There seemed to be something off about it."

"Aye."

Commander Linna shifted the way a person does when they notice something they were looking for. Milly followed his eyes, curious about who he had come to meet. Several feet away, pushing his way through the crowd was Hyrule Town's best known doctor. She understood now. Something _had _happened to the princess, and Commander Linna had come to meet with the doctor. There were other guards nearby as well, but she hadn't noticed them before. Milly couldn't help but wonder what had happened for the doctor to need to be escorted by the Commander of the Royal Guard himself. She was about to ask, but didn't have time to.

The doctor had just reached them when he tripped. One of the guards reached out and grabbed the doctor by the shoulder in order to prevent the old man from falling. There were screams from surprised onlookers. Commander Linna stepped forward, pushing Milly behind him. All she could do was stare at his back, the image of the scene seemingly burnt into her vision. There in the center of Hyrule Town, where a doctor and a guard stood moments ago, were two stone statues.

"W-what just...?"

Milly was stunned, as were many others that had seen the event. There was a silence over them all. What sort of spell or curse could, in broad daylight and in the middle of a crowd, transform two grown men into stone statues? She had to see it. Had she just imagined it? Or did it really just happen? Milly stepped to the side, looking around the Commander. Sure enough, there they were, the doctor in mid-fall with the guard holding him up. They were frozen in that moment. Reality fell back to Milly with the sound of Commander Linna's voice.

"Hold those people back! Get these two out of here! And for Din's sake don't drop them!"

The crowd was gathering together. Everyone was asking question. People were pushing each other out of the way in hopes of seeing what had just happened. The other guards had moved quickly, getting the statues into a wagon and covering them with a tarp. Several guards were holding back the crowd and trying to open a bath between the people. Commander Linna turned back to Milly.

"Milliard, you should come back to the castle with us. I'm sure Isaac will want to know you're safe."

"Alright," she replied with a nod.

* * *

"I see," Isaac sighed, running his hand though his dark hair. "This doesn't bode well."

"There's something else, isn't there?"

They were sitting at a table in one of the rooms designated for the guards. Milly had waited here for her father for some time before he was free, and when she saw him she told him about what had happened in the town center. At first she had been terrified, but she had had time to calm down. Now she was confused, and she wanted answers. There was something happening in Hyrule, something big. She could feel it in the way her stomach turned. And there was something her father knew that she didn't. Isaac looked up at his daughter with tired expression.

"They're not the first," he said, folding his hands in front of him and resting his nose on his fingers. "Princess Zelda was also turned to stone. It happened some time during the night. One of the maids found her." He paused, but Milly said nothing. "Many believed that it was some sort of curse, so Thomas sent for a doctor who is said to have knowledge of such things. We all hoped he'd have an idea of what to do, but we'll never know now."

"A curse," Milly whispered thoughtfully. A silence fell between them until a light knock came from the door.

"Come in," Isaac said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. A guard stepped through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt," he began. "Commander Linna wishes to speak with you, Miss Church."

"Me? Why? I..."

"You should go see what he has to say," Isaac said. "It's probably important. I should get back to work anyway."

With that, he stood up and headed out the door with a slight wave. Milly stood as well and followed the guard. She knew why her father wanted her to meet with the Commander. If he wanted something from her, than that might mean she was one step closer to becoming a member of the Royal Guard. The guard led her through the castle and to one of the courtyards. It seemed that this courtyard had been designated as a training ground for the guards. All over there were guards dueling and training in various forms of weaponry. Commander Linna was at the far side of the courtyard, pacing with his hands behind his back. He looked up as they approached.

"Milliard," he said. "Come. Walk with me."

He motioned with his hand for her to follow, and they headed through a pair of large doors and away from the clamor of the training grounds. They walked for a while in silence. Commander Linna looked tired. She had never seen him like that before. In the years when he would join them for dinner, he had always been rather firm but was always optimistic and full of energy. The situation must have been weighing heavily on him. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling. The princess had been turned to stone under his watch. They turned down another corridor.

"I'm sure Isaac already filled you in."

"Yeah."

"What are your thoughts on the matter?"

"You mean with the curse?" Milly asked, looking up at him. He nodded. "Well, there has to be a cure for it somewhere. Someone has to know something about it…It feels like there's something bigger going on though."

"If you believe that, I'd like to ask you a favor." He stopped walking, and looked at Milly for the first time since they started this stroll. "Something must be done; however, I can't afford to spare any men at the moment. I know your father's been training you, and I'm sure you're very capable. I'd like you to find as much information about this curse as you can, then report back to me."

For a moment, Milly said nothing. She wasn't sure what to say. Commander Linna's faced alone told her the importance of this mission. He would not trust it to just anyone. He had confidence in her, but she still had her doubts. If she was going to search for information, where would she begin? After a moment she sighed and met the Commander's eyes.

"I'll do my best."

**

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Authors Note**: Not too sure how I feel about how this chapter turned out, but at least I got through everything I wanted. Anyway, please review. Thanks for reading.


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